Independence Hall (Israel)

Today's exterior view of the house at 16 Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv, where Israel's Independence Hall is located

The Independence Hall ( Hebrew בֵּית הָעַצְמָאוּת Bejt ha-ʿAtzmaʿūt , German 'House of Independence' , or alsoבֵּית דִּיזֵנְגּוֹף Bejt Dīsengōf , German 'House Dizengoffs' ) in the house at Tel Aviv Rothschild Boulevard 16 is the place where the Israeli Declaration of Independence was passed on May 14, 1948 . In memory of the founding act of the State of Israel , the former exhibition hall was restored in 1978 and then inaugurated as Independence Hall . In 2010, Independence Hall was declared a National Museum.

History of the house

The history of the house in which Independence Hall is located is closely linked to the founding history of Tel Aviv .

On April 11, 1909, 66 families gathered on Jaffa Beach. They had come together to draw lots to hand out lots for a new Jewish quarter outside Jaffa. The lot with the number 43 was drawn by the married couple Meir and Zina Dizengoff , who built their house on the plot that would later be their address, which will later be called Rothschild Boulevard 16 . ( Location ) The new settlement, politically a suburb of Jaffa, was still called Achusat Bayit at that time and was renamed Tel Aviv by its residents in 1910. Meir Dizengoff became the first chairman of the settlement committee and then, after these suburbs were separated from the city of Jaffa in 1921, the first mayor of Tel Aviv.

Zina Dizengoff died in 1930. A year later, Meir Dizengoff left the common house to the city of Tel Aviv and asked for it to be converted into a museum. He himself stayed in a small attic apartment in the house. Dizengoff, who finally died on September 23, 1936, confirmed his wish in his will in 1935: “My last request to the residents of Tel Aviv. I have dedicated a large part of my life to this city, and now that I am about to bid you farewell, I want to leave you my favorite child, the Tel Aviv Museum, in your custody. Please take good care of it, because one day it will become the pride and glory of our city. "

The building was expanded and renovated in the mid-1930s by the architect Carl Rubin (1899–1955), who, after his time in 1931/1932 as an employee in Erich Mendelsohn's architectural office in Berlin, settled in Tel Aviv as an independent architect and attracted attention through the first buildings from clients and the public. According to Rubin's plans, the Dizengoffs' house was converted for use by the Tel Aviv Art Museum , the exhibition area was expanded by 188 m² to 426 m², and the house received new, smaller windows, a redesigned entrance and a new facade. The Rubin, who is well connected in the city, won the 1935 tender for the construction of the Beit Hadar . Parallel to the renovation of the Dizengoffs 'house, Rubin was also involved in building the Beit Hadar , the headquarters of the citrus growers' association.

The museum reopened on February 23, 1936. Five days later, on February 28th, Rubin handed the Beit Hadar over to the owners. Museum director Karl Schwarz , from 1930 to 1933 head of the art collection of the Jewish Community in Berlin, officially called the Jewish Museum (Collection of the Jewish Community in Berlin) from 1932 , moved to Tel Aviv in May 1933 at the invitation of Dizengoff to build the museum. Schwarz writes about the conversion of the house into a museum: “After several years of preparatory work and the use of large funds, the expansion and new building of the museum can now be opened. The former Dizengoff house, one of the first buildings in Tel Aviv, which has undergone several changes over the years and which the mayor and founder of the museum, M. Dizengoff, made available, has been converted into a modern museum building according to the plans of the architect Carl Rubin has been redesigned. "

Schwarz describes the renovations and the large hall, which later became the site of the Declaration of Independence: “15 large rooms adapted for special purposes and a large lecture hall were set up on three floors Connect two halls each ... From the central hall, a five-step staircase, which occupies the entire width and is interrupted by two pilasters, leads to the large exhibition and lecture hall, which receives even, skylight-like lighting from narrow windows running close to the ceiling. ... The hall, with staggered podium and rows of chairs, offers 250 seats and is to be made available for art lectures and musical events. "

David Ben-Gurion reading the Declaration of Independence

The declaration of Independence

The main hour of the building struck on the afternoon of May 14, 1948.

“On May 15, the British formally withdrew from Palestine. The mandate was over. But May 15 was a Shabbat , so the Jewish leadership decided to declare independence on May 14 at 4 p.m. The ceremony was to take place at the Dizengoff Museum on Rothschild Boulevard. Many members of the Provisional State Council (Israel's provisional legislature from shortly before independence until after the election of the first Knesset) were trapped in Jerusalem, besieged by Arab forces, but the others gathered in the large gallery on the lower level of the museum . The chairs for the 400 invited guests were borrowed from local cafes, a podium was built in a hurry and a sound system that was also borrowed was ready to broadcast the dramatic moment. "

After the reading of the Declaration of Independence by David Ben-Gurion recited Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon , the leader of the Mizrachi movement, the blessing She'Hecheyanu . This was followed by the signing of the Declaration of Independence by members of the Provisional Council and Provisional Government who lived in Tel Aviv or who had been able to get through there. With the singing of the national anthem HaTikwa , the ceremony ended after just 32 minutes at 4:32 p.m. After leaving the hall, the participants of the event were greeted by a cheering crowd in front of the house.

Street scene after Israel's declaration of independence in front of today's Independence Hall

National cultural heritage

In 1971 the Tel Aviv Museum of Art moved into a new building, after which the Israeli government gave the building on Rothschild Boulevard to the Israeli Society for Biblical Research , which housed the Beit ha Tanach (Bible Museum) and an educational center for the dissemination of knowledge about set up the Bible.

In 1978, on the 30th anniversary of the State of Israel, the exhibition hall was redesigned with the approval of the Bible Museum, thus re-establishing the link to the declaration of independence. The upper floors of the house remained with the Bible Museum. Also in 1978, a declaration was signed in the Independence Hall in the presence of the then Israeli President Ephraim Katzir , the Knesset spokesman Yitzhak Shamir and the Prime Minister Menachem Begin , which announced the establishment of the Independence Hall Museum under the auspices of the Tel Aviv Eretz Israel Museum .

In 2010, due to the Beit Haatzmaut law passed in 2009, a program was initiated to plan, restore and maintain the Independence Museum and transform it into a national museum. The building that houses Independence Hall is now administered by the Eretz Israel Museum . A legally anchored academic participates in the administration, conservation, restoration and exhibition planning.

Today's Independence Hall at a public event

The Eretz Israel Museum describes what a visit to Independence Hall offers visitors as follows:

“Today you can visit the historical hall in which Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Most of the exhibits are original, some are faithfully reconstructed and take the visitor back to this incredible event. The names of those who attended the 1948 ceremony are on the dais and chairs; Herzl's portrait hangs over the stage, flanked by two long Israeli flags. Most of the paintings on display at the time, which have been in the collection of the Tel Aviv Museum since the State Declaration, can still be seen on the walls. In the corner are various items related to the ceremony: documents, invitations, recording and sending equipment, memos, and more. Visitors can listen to the original recording of the ceremony and watch a 16-minute film that describes the events of the time and the history of the building. "

Web links

Independence Hall Israel. On this page the history of Independence Hall is presented in detail; current information can also be found here.
Independence Hall

Individual evidence

↑ It is presented in detail on the English language website Independence Hall Israel , the information of which is referred to below.
↑ One of the most famous places in Tel Aviv is named after her, from which Dizengoff Street, named after her husband, leads away: All at the beginning. The famous Tel Aviv landmark is being returned to its old state .
↑ Joachim Schlör , Tel Aviv - from dream to city: Journey through culture and history , Frankfurt am Main: Insel, 1999, (= Insel Taschenbuch; Vol. 2514), p. 287. ISBN 978-3-458-34214-4 .
^ Beit Dizengoff
↑ The process of change in the building can be seen on the website Beit Tanach (Bible Museum) and Heichal Haʿatzmaʿut (Independence Hall) (PDF).
↑ Edina Meyer-Maril (עֱדִינָה מֵאִיר – מָרִיל), The International Style Architecture in Tel Aviv 1930-1939 ,רָשׁוּת הַדֹּאַר / הַשֵּׁרוּת הַבּוּלַאי (Ed.), Tel Aviv-Jaffo: הַשֵּׁרוּת הַבּוּלַאי, 1994 / תשנ"ד, P. 2.
↑ ^a ^b Michael Jacobson (מִיכָאֵל יַעֲקוֹבְּסוֹן), "סִבּוּב בְּבֵית הָדָר", Chap. 4 'תּוֹלְדֹת', January 1, 2019 , in: חַלּוֹן אֲחוֹרִי: אַרְכִיטֶקְטוּרָה וְאִידֵאוֹלוֹגְיָה בְּדִּיסְנִיְלֶנְד מְקוֹמִי , accessed January 4, 2020.
^ Myra Warhaftig, you laid the foundation stone - life and work of German-speaking architects in Palestine 1918-1948 , Berlin: Wasmuth, 1996, p. 108. ISBN 978-3-8030-0171-9 .
↑ Nir Man (נִיר מַן) and Danny Recht (דָּנִי רֶכְט), "בֵּית הָדָר"(Beit Hadar), on: תֵּל אָבִיב 100. הָאֶנְצִיקְלוֹפֶּדְיָה הָעִירוֹנִי, accessed January 4, 2020.
^ Hermann Simon, The Berlin Jewish Museum in Oranienburger Strasse: History of a Destroyed Cultural Site (Berlin: Berlin Museum, ¹ 1983), Berlin: Union Verlag, ² 1988, pp. 18 and 36. ISBN 3-372-00197-4 .
^ Hermann Simon, The Berlin Jewish Museum on Oranienburger Strasse: History of a Destroyed Cultural Site (Berlin: Berlin Museum, ¹ 1983), Berlin: Union Verlag, ² 1988, p. 18. ISBN 3-372-00197-4 .
^ Hermann Simon, The Berlin Jewish Museum in Oranienburger Strasse: History of a Destroyed Cultural Site (Berlin: Berlin Museum, ¹ 1983), Berlin: Union Verlag, ² 1988, p. 36. ISBN 3-372-00197-4 .
↑ Karl Schwarz, “On the opening of the new museum in Tel Aviv”, in: Palestine: Zeitschrift für den Aufbau Palestine , vol. 19 (1936), no. 3 (March 1936), Commission for the exploration of Palestine (ed.), P 131-134, here p. 131 .
↑ Karl Schwarz, “On the opening of the new museum in Tel Aviv”, in: Palestine: Zeitschrift für den Aufbau Palestine , vol. 19 (1936), no. 3 (March 1936), Commission for the exploration of Palestine (ed.), P 131-134, here p. 132 . Omissions [...] not in the original.
^ Independence Hall. "On May 15, the British formally withdrew from Palestine. The mandate was over. But May 15 was a Shabbat, so the Jewish leadership decided to declare independence on erev Shabbat, May 14, at 4 pm. The ceremony was to take place at the Dizengoff Museum on Rothschild Boulevard. Many members of the Provisional State Council (temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until after the election of the first Knesset) were stuck in Jerusalem, besieged by Arab forces, but the others assembled in the large gallery on the lower level of the museum . Chairs for the 400 invited guests had been borrowed from local cafes; a podium had been hastily constructed and a sound system, also borrowed, stood ready to broadcast the dramatic moment. "
^ Independence Hall
↑ Beit Hatanach (Bible Museum)
^ Independence Hall . "Today you can visit the historic hall in which Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Most of the exhibits are original, while some have been reconstructed in precise detail, transporting the visitor back to that incredible event. The names of those who attended the 1948 ceremony are on the dais and chairs; Herzl's portrait hangs above center stage, flanked by two long Israeli flags. Most of the pictures displayed at the time, part of the Tel Aviv Museum's collection from the day the state was declared, remain on the walls. In the corner there are various items connected with the ceremony: documents, invitations, recording and broadcasting equipment, memos and more. Visitors can listen to the original recording of the ceremony and view a 16-minute film describing the events of the period and the history of the building. "

[1] It is presented in detail on the English language website Independence Hall Israel , the information of which is referred to below.

[2] One of the most famous places in Tel Aviv is named after her, from which Dizengoff Street, named after her husband, leads away: All at the beginning. The famous Tel Aviv landmark is being returned to its old state .

[Schlör_1999_p287-3] Joachim Schlör , Tel Aviv - from dream to city: Journey through culture and history , Frankfurt am Main: Insel, 1999, (= Insel Taschenbuch; Vol. 2514), p. 287. ISBN 978-3-458-34214-4 .

[4] Beit Dizengoff

[5] The process of change in the building can be seen on the website Beit Tanach (Bible Museum) and Heichal Haʿatzmaʿut (Independence Hall) (PDF).

[Meyer-Maril_1994_p2-6] Edina Meyer-Maril (עֱדִינָה מֵאִיר – מָרִיל), The International Style Architecture in Tel Aviv 1930-1939 ,רָשׁוּת הַדֹּאַר / הַשֵּׁרוּת הַבּוּלַאי (Ed.), Tel Aviv-Jaffo: הַשֵּׁרוּת הַבּוּלַאי, 1994 / תשנ"ד, P. 2.

[Jacobson_2019_Kap4-7] Michael Jacobson (מִיכָאֵל יַעֲקוֹבְּסוֹן), "סִבּוּב בְּבֵית הָדָר", Chap. 4 'תּוֹלְדֹת', January 1, 2019 , in: חַלּוֹן אֲחוֹרִי: אַרְכִיטֶקְטוּרָה וְאִידֵאוֹלוֹגְיָה בְּדִּיסְנִיְלֶנְד מְקוֹמִי , accessed January 4, 2020.

[Warhaftig_1996_p108-8] Myra Warhaftig, you laid the foundation stone - life and work of German-speaking architects in Palestine 1918-1948 , Berlin: Wasmuth, 1996, p. 108. ISBN 978-3-8030-0171-9 .

[Mann_Recht_בֵּית_הָדָר-9] Nir Man (נִיר מַן) and Danny Recht (דָּנִי רֶכְט), "בֵּית הָדָר"(Beit Hadar), on: תֵּל אָבִיב 100. הָאֶנְצִיקְלוֹפֶּדְיָה הָעִירוֹנִי, accessed January 4, 2020.

[10] Hermann Simon, The Berlin Jewish Museum in Oranienburger Strasse: History of a Destroyed Cultural Site (Berlin: Berlin Museum, ¹ 1983), Berlin: Union Verlag, ² 1988, pp. 18 and 36. ISBN 3-372-00197-4 .

[11] Hermann Simon, The Berlin Jewish Museum on Oranienburger Strasse: History of a Destroyed Cultural Site (Berlin: Berlin Museum, ¹ 1983), Berlin: Union Verlag, ² 1988, p. 18. ISBN 3-372-00197-4 .

[12] Hermann Simon, The Berlin Jewish Museum in Oranienburger Strasse: History of a Destroyed Cultural Site (Berlin: Berlin Museum, ¹ 1983), Berlin: Union Verlag, ² 1988, p. 36. ISBN 3-372-00197-4 .

[13] Karl Schwarz, “On the opening of the new museum in Tel Aviv”, in: Palestine: Zeitschrift für den Aufbau Palestine , vol. 19 (1936), no. 3 (March 1936), Commission for the exploration of Palestine (ed.), P 131-134, here p. 131 .

[14] Karl Schwarz, “On the opening of the new museum in Tel Aviv”, in: Palestine: Zeitschrift für den Aufbau Palestine , vol. 19 (1936), no. 3 (March 1936), Commission for the exploration of Palestine (ed.), P 131-134, here p. 132 . Omissions [...] not in the original.

[15] Independence Hall. "On May 15, the British formally withdrew from Palestine. The mandate was over. But May 15 was a Shabbat, so the Jewish leadership decided to declare independence on erev Shabbat, May 14, at 4 pm. The ceremony was to take place at the Dizengoff Museum on Rothschild Boulevard. Many members of the Provisional State Council (temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until after the election of the first Knesset) were stuck in Jerusalem, besieged by Arab forces, but the others assembled in the large gallery on the lower level of the museum . Chairs for the 400 invited guests had been borrowed from local cafes; a podium had been hastily constructed and a sound system, also borrowed, stood ready to broadcast the dramatic moment. "

[16] Independence Hall

[17] Beit Hatanach (Bible Museum)

[18] Independence Hall . "Today you can visit the historic hall in which Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Most of the exhibits are original, while some have been reconstructed in precise detail, transporting the visitor back to that incredible event. The names of those who attended the 1948 ceremony are on the dais and chairs; Herzl's portrait hangs above center stage, flanked by two long Israeli flags. Most of the pictures displayed at the time, part of the Tel Aviv Museum's collection from the day the state was declared, remain on the walls. In the corner there are various items connected with the ceremony: documents, invitations, recording and broadcasting equipment, memos and more. Visitors can listen to the original recording of the ceremony and view a 16-minute film describing the events of the period and the history of the building. "